Sumter EMC, based out of Americus, Georgia, became a member of CRC in 2013.  In addition to using call handling and dispatch services, they began using CRC’s billing IVR in 2017. The utility membership has embraced automation and in 2023 the billing IVR assisted over 35,000 Sumter EMC customers with billing inquiries and payments. Andrea Walker, vice president, marketing & administration, noted the IVR has had a positive impact on customer call handling for their utility and the addition of the automated system has allowed their Member Services team to handle other calls. The Sumter EMC members have been very receptive to using automation, which can be attributed to the dedicated efforts the utility placed on educating their customers. The IVR option was added to their front-end phone menu to encourage use, and advertised in the member newsletter. Many members have commented they now prefer the IVR over a live representative. From the utility's perspective, using a CRC-hosted billing IVR has been an all-around win considering their members’ payment card data is no-longer exposed to staff or recorded in telephony, and their staff has more time to focus on calls that truly require individual customer assistance.
 
There are many benefits to utilizing CRC’s billing IVR. The use of automation to give billing amounts or take a payment from customers can allow utility office staff, as well as CRC agents, to handle the more complex or urgent call types. If a customer has an additional question after a balance inquiry or payment, there is then the option to be routed back out to CRC’s live agent queue. In addition to assisting more callers, the billing IVR is extremely cost effective and could save your utility money. If you are interested in discussing further if CRC’s billing IVR would be a good fit for your utility, email info@crc.coop.